strange dark men
by labrat love
Summary: late one night the daemon barber of fleet street gives a shave to a quiet young man, later a grim friend of his makes an appearance. bad summery...Sweeny Todd Jekyll and Hyde crossover! M just for safety...not sure where this one is going...
1. Chapter 1

**So, here it is something new for me (not just the usual Nick&Greg cuteness), i saw Sweeny Todd the other day and thought it was brilliant. And i needed to write a Fic, this one is going to take me a while though so hang in there!**

A solitary man walked through the dark streets of London late one night. He walked quickly, he did not want to get caught in the wrong part of town. He was going to visit a friend, a woman friend. A friend his fiance did not know he had. There was nothing going on between himself and the woman, or rather he thought there was nothing going on, there were times in the nights they spent together that he did not remember. _Long stretches,_ he thought with a shudder, the last thing he wanted to be was unfaithful. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt anyone.

Somewhere nearby a solitary man paced the floor of his shop. He could not sleep, he could never sleep. Thoughts and painful memories swirled through his brain and haunted him. They possessed his mind and drove him mad. He paced to his dresser and rested there for a moment. He leaned his full weight against it and let the sturdy wood bear his load. Suddenly he lost control, he violently swept the items on the top of his dresser to the floor with a vicious growl. He stood up, and drew himself to his full height. He looked down at the items on the floor, a gold picture frame held his gaze. Then just as suddenly as the rage was brought upon him there was grief, he broke down into sobs and collapsed to the floor.

Below the shop of the madman a woman watched a young boy sleep. She did not startle when she heard the crash from above, she merely let out a small sigh and shook her head. The boy stirred slightly at the noise. With another sigh and a sad smile she looked at the boy. He was her salvation,her Godsend. At the same time it hurt her to see him, this was no way to raise a child. _So close, I am so close,_ she thought, _if only I could get him to listen to reason._ If only she could get the madman she loved to realize he had everything he wanted at his fingertips. He could have a family again. They would move somewhere far from London. Somewhere warm, away from the darkness and the smell, away from the death and the demons.

In a small room above a dark bar a young woman lay awake. She lay waiting for a knock, the knock that meant that one of them was back. She prayed it would be her angel of mercy, the kind gentle man who would make her feel human. The man with the soft eyes that said so much. There was still the looming fear that it was the other man. She did not know how he knew she was alone, time after time he came when she was expecting salvation. He was dark and cruel and cared for no one. She closed her eyes in a wordless plea to whatever was out there listening that this time the strange dark man would not come, only her kind doctor.


	2. the madmen

The nervous young man walking the dark streets paused. He felt strange. There was something wrong, he had the feeling he was being followed. He often had that feeling, but there was never anyone there. For a moment he almost thought he heard footsteps. That is why as he rounded the corner of Fleet Street and saw the man on his stairs he called out.

"Sir! Pardon me sir, may I come up for a moment? I am feeling a little strange and would like some water."

The man on the stairs said nothing but waved the man up all the same. By the time he got upstairs there was water waiting for him on the dresser. The dark man was standing nearby looking out the window.

"Is this your wife?" The man with the water asked pointing to the gilded picture frame on the dresser. "She's very pretty." The man at the window instantly switched his gaze out the window to a violent glare at the young man.

"What?" he barked as he shoved the man against the wall.

"Your wife, she's pretty, please don't hurt me!" he choked "I'm going to be married myself." At that the man was released.

"Your intended, is she pretty?" said the man withdrawing back towards the window.

"Yes, very. Soft golden curls, and a face like an angel. All I want is to be able to take care of her. All I want to do is make her happy. Emma is my life. Oh, my name is Jekyll, Dr. Henry Jekyll."

"A doctor, you should have no problems providing for her."

"Yes, that would be the case, but my research is not going very well, I'm not getting enough funding."

"What is standing in your way." Normally the man from Fleet Street would not care to socialize with the people who found there way into his upstairs room, but the young man standing near his dresser brought out sympathy he did not know he had.

"The group of my usual benefactors does not approve of my current experiments. I believe that in time I can create an elixir to separate the good from the evil that lurks within man. They believe it's sacrilegious and refuse to give me funding." The young man continued to talk unaware that his silent host was no longer paying attention. It was not until the young man had driven himself to frustration over his experiments and began to loose control of himself, that his host even batted an eyelash. The man at the window watched with a curious expression as his guest thrashed and choked.

_He seems to be having a fit. Hm...if he dies, I'll just send him down the chute and Lovett will deal with him in the morning. If he lives, well I'll just have to listen to him talk. _

He turned in disgust as the man wretched and gaged. Then everything was still.

"Alright?" He thought he would ask, for the fiancé's sake. Instead of a weak confirmation like he was expecting, he was answered by a deep chuckle.

"I sense I am no longer in the presence of the good doctor." Said the host to his unusual guest.

"I think your right there friend." Answered the new entity in the Doctor's likeness.

"So it it's not him who are you?"

"You can just think of me as a concerned citizen."

"Concerned for what."

"The current state of London, and it's moral decay." Said the new man. "The same people that believe they have the right to judge me and tell me what I can and cannot do, do things that would make your hair curl when they think no one is watching."

"I believe you friend, you have found a kindred spirit. Someone else in the pit of London who believes in the extermination of the vermin in the city."

"Extermination?" The new man said to himself. "Yes, they deny me what I need, and take advantage of the people under them, in more way's than one, if you see my meaning." The second man nodded. "Yes then that is what I'll do, exterminate them! My friend you are a true visionary. To whom do I owe my gratitude?"

"Sweeney Todd, the barber of Fleet Street," he replied, "If you are ever in the neighborhood again, stop in for a shave."

"I will," said the second man as he left the upstairs room.


End file.
